Liquid Courage
by ScandalousSal
Summary: Achewater is a tonic that can soothe all anxieties.
1. Chapter 1

A school of fish drifted lazily past the porthole window that looked out into the depths of the moon pool. Usually Reynardine would be there, paws against the glass, tail wagging occasionally, but tonight he had vanished to parts unknown. It was something he did from time to time. There was never a warning, and when he eventually slunk back a day or so later, neither was there an explanation. Antimony did not trouble herself with it too much. She could probably order him to tell the truth, but she had come to value his friendship and respect too much to do so. Whatever he was up to, it was his business.

Kat was sitting by the open cabinet upon which the television rested, open DVD cases strewn around her.

"Avatar?"

"Mmm... no." Antimony said. "Seen it too many times."

"Prometheus?"

"I'd like to go to sleep tonight, Kat."

"But it's about science! It's not scary!" Kat protested.

"How about Frozen?" she said, picking up a case that was in danger of disappearing under the couch.

"Oh alright..." Kat grumbled, sweeping all the open cases back towards the cabinet and putting them away, one at a time. "But it's only going to remind us of how freezing it is in here."

Kat was right. The temperature of the room, and indeed the entire dorms, hovered somewhere between "bloody cold" and "ice". Lindsey had promised to have the heating repaired by the end of the weekend, but included the disclaimer that repairing anything on a prototype oil exploration platform is risky business, and required the utmost care and attention to detail.

Thus, on Friday night Antimony and Kat partook in their unbroken ritual of movie night with a heavy wool blanket thrown over both of them. Antimony was just skipping through the ads to get to the main menu screen when there was a knock at the door. Kat seemed to be expecting this, because she immediately sprang up and ran over to the hatch.

"Oh, I invited Paz too. I hope that's okay." She said on the way there.

"Of course." Antimony replied automatically.

In reality it was not okay. Antimony had accepted the fact of Paz's presence in her best friends life, and on paper the two of them were chums as well, but movie night was a sacred institution and she couldn't help but feel like Paz was transgressing. The girl shivered as she stepped into the room.

"Ay, it's cold in here..."

Antimony scooted over and Paz sat next to her, smiling politely. Antimony could have been imagining it, but she got the distinct impression that she had thought Kat was alone.

"Hello Annie."

"Hi Paz. Good to see you." Antimony lied.

"What are we watching?"

"Frozen," Kat said "we thought it would be fitting."

Paz giggled a little harder than the joke warranted, which annoyed Annie for some reason she could not quite name. Kat sat and pulled the blanket back over all three of them. Annie hit the play button, ending the repetitively looping title menu music. They had barely made it past the dire warnings against copyright infringement when Annie felt the blanket shift. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Paz's left hand began to wander- a wooly lump that migrated steadily over to Kat's thigh and began to rub it gently. She could see Kat shiver again, although this was not a shiver of cold. The lump moved between Kat's legs and disappeared as Antimony heard the faint snap of the elastic in Kat's panties being pried up by delicate brown fingers.

Paz must have thought she was really clever, speeding up her strokes whenever the soundtrack picked up or someone began to sing. Antimony continued to look straight ahead at the screen, but she was no longer paying any attention to it. She felt unspeakably angry that Paz had the nerve to do this to her best friend while she was sitting right next to her, but although she considered getting up and pulling the blanket off all of them to expose the shenanigans, she did not. Instead she listened to Kat's breathing as it got heavier and heavier, until Paz skillfully brought her to climax during a loud part of the movie. Kat's eyes squeezed shut and Annie could see her legs shaking ever so slightly, clenching around Paz's hand.

Normally Kat and Annie would be talking throughout the movie like noisy theater patrons, calling out mistakes and plot holes or making jokes of their own, but tonight no one said a word.

* * *

"The Forest? Annie, I don't know. Don't they hate humans?"

Antimony absentmindedly tossed a swimsuit and makeup into her backpack. After a long, cold night, they had both come to the conclusion that the temperature in the dorm was insufferable, and that they had no choice but to seek warmer climes for the weekend. Kat had suggested going to her parents house, but Antimony had thought of a counter-proposal that struck her as brilliant, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Nonsense. I'm mostly human, and they have no problem with me. Besides, I'm the medium. I have an open invitation and that includes friends."

"Alright, if you say so then. Do you think Paz can come along as well?"

"What?" Antimony said, her hand freezing halfway to the bag.

"Well..." Kat said, clearly uncomfortable, "...it was just that I had promised her we would hang out this weekend at my parent's and I don't want to-"

Antimony raised a hand, cutting her off.

"Kat, it's fine. I'm just worried that Jones won't agree. That's all."

That wasn't all. It wasn't even close. Still, Antimony decided that the best thing to do in this situation was to be gracious and not throw a fit that she would have to share her friend's attention. It did not stop the fact from irking her. Why? Why did Paz have to creep into everything like some kind of virus? Was this going to stop, or was it going to get progressively worse until they married and Kat stopped having anything to do with her? Kat had assured her it wasn't like that, but still... Antimony could not help but wonder on it.

"Jones?" Kat replied, looking confused. "I thought you were allowed to come and go as you please."

"Unfortunately not. Jones is in charge of relations between the Court and the Wood, and I am still a student here. Not to mention she is in charge of court security. They will scrub us all thoroughly when we come back. Make sure to tell Paz that."

* * *

Jones tapped the papers on her desk once to align them all. It only took one tap. A lot of things were like that with Jones, and it tended put people off. Not Antimony, though. She waited patiently for an answer.

"I am inclined to say no out of hand." Jones said, at last.

"But...?" Antimony said.

"But since you are the Wood's official medium now, I suppose you can now plan these trips at your discretion. I am not concerned for your safety, but I am concerned for the safety of those you plan to take with you. Ms. Donlan and Ms. Cadena-Blanco have not received the same thorough instruction on what is and what is not safe. They may cause offense inadvertently, merely by being human, or worse yet they may bring something back to the Court which we are not equipped to contain. Quarantine procedures are not idle exercises."

"I understand." Antimony replied, trying to look as though she meant it. "I will fill them in on everything."

"Very well then. I will ask the headmaster. One moment."

Jones set down the papers she had been holding in a tray marked "out" and walked through a door in the back of her office, closing it behind her. It was a thick door, solid steel casing filled with sand to ensure maximum resistance to fire and to prevent eavesdropping. The room was very small, more like a concrete closet. Row upon row of deposit boxes lined the walls. She pulled out her phone and dialed Llanwellyn. After the customary five rings, a very tired sounding man picked up the phone.

"Hello Jones."

"Hello John."

Without further formality, Jones laid out the request that Antimony had made of her, and her concerns. When she had finished, there was a long pause.

"I like the idea."

It was not the response she had been hoping to hear, but it hardly surprised her. John was fond of other people's ideas. It spared him the trouble of taking the blame.

"It would give us leverage over them. Who then could say we weren't trying to reach out? To make overtures of peace? And if the time comes, we could strike from the moral high ground. Not to mention that Ms. Blanco seems to have an aptitude for speaking to animals. The intelligence she could provide us, even from a casual debriefing, would be invaluable."

"I am uncomfortable with the idea of using students as pawns, even to further to goals of the Court."

A small sigh wafted through the speaker. It was John's signature mood: ever so slightly annoyed. The sheer mildness of his impatience wafted over you, hinting that this current equanimity might not last long, should the speaker continue to insist on being unreasonable. It had no effect on her, but she had seen it at work on lesser minds.

"You don't feel discomfort Jones, you don't feel anything. That's why I offered you this job and that's why you agreed. It is a little late to be voicing objections. If you can't see this through, then you cannot continue to call this place your home. That was the deal. Am I making myself clear?"

"Perfectly." Jones said, her voice changing not a single octave.

There was no goodbye. Only a soft click as the other receiver was hung up.

* * *

Kat was nervous as they departed the Court. Something about leaving the safety of that massive door and walking down those colossal stone steps made her feel extremely vulnerable. It was better, though, because Paz was by her side. She wanted to take her hand, but something told her now wasn't the time. Annie and Mr. Eglamore were walking a little ways ahead, conversing in low voices. As they crossed the narrow strip of concrete that connected the two sides, she could _feel _the cavernous gap yawning up at her. She spared it a glance, and then did not look again.

It was a relief to be on the other side.

Ahead of them Gillite Wood loomed large. It was much more solid-looking up close. A wall of trees, standing silent on the windless spring day. It was only a little after nine and the sun had already burned through the clouds. Annie and Eglamore had stopped and appeared to be waiting for something, so they did the same. A short time later an odd-looking little green fellow wandered out of the forest and introduced himself.

"Greetings! I am Jolly Elfsberry. Welcome to Gillite Wood!"

This seemed to be directed primarily at Paz and Kat, so Kat inclined her head slightly and tried to smile.

"Thank you very much for having us Mr. Elfsberry."

"Oh don't thank me, thank Coyote! He's the one that runs things around here. A wise old chap, and a handsome devil too, between you and me..." Elfsberry said, adopting a comically conspiratorial air.

She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Antimony was snickering into her hand. Obviously there was some joke she wasn't getting, but Kat decided to play along.

"Come, come! I will show you the path, and then I must depart. Coyote sends me on many errands, oh yes! I am very important to him." Jolly continued, turning and beginning to walk back towards the forest.

They followed suit, waving goodbye to Eglamore as he left them and returned to the Court. Soon the trees were all around them, and a firm dirt path underneath their feet, studded here and there by flat cobblestones that looked so worn they might have been natural rocks.

"I wager Fire-Head Girl can take it from here eh?"

"I wager I can." Antimony replied.

"Splendid. Tah!"

And with that, he was gone again. Kat looked back at Annie. She was so confident, so self-assured in this strange situation...

Annie happened to catch her eye.

"You look nervous Kat."

"I am."

"Don't be." Annie said in a reassuring tone. "Coyote wants you to have a good time here, trust me. It's in his best interest, and what he wants usually happens, one way or another."

It was so much deeper than it had looked from the far side of the divide. The trees were thick as stone pillars, and through their branches the sun streamed through in green and gold, the light constantly shifting as the leaves moved in the gentle breeze. Strange, colorful streamers flitted past them like insects. Just beyond the path Kat occasionally caught a glimpse of otherworldly creatures, crunching through the underbrush. A group of living shadows paused their frolicking to watch the newcomers walk by. They then commenced to stalk them playfully for a little while, before growing bored and gamboling off into some new direction.

After a while they reached a large fallen log, and beyond that, a bright burst of sunlight and a clearing beyond. As they stepped across the log, balancing carefully, and out into this glow, their eyes adjusted and they saw the village all around them. It was very clever and carefully designed. It almost looked like it had been grown from the very same bark and roots as the trees it adjoined. Kat stared in amazement at the sinuous branches woven together to support the tremendous weight of each house. Her nervousness was entirely forgotten now, driven out by a sense of wonder. She had never seen a place like this in her life, and something told her that it would be quite a while before she saw something comparable again.

They were greeted by two Anwyn, a boy and a girl, both several years older than them and each as green as the dappled leaves that lay all around them. Kat could not help but notice that they were both very good looking...

"Hey Kamlen, Hey Sareed. Where is everyone? Seems awfully quiet around here."

"Hello Annie. Me mum told us you would be coming. My old man is away on a long hunt, he took the other chiefs with him. Everyone else is sleeping in." The boy replied. "And who are your friends?"

"This is Katerina and Paz." Antimony said, gesturing at the two of them.

Kat swallowed her nervousness and shook their hands.

"It's very nice to meet you both. Annie has told me all about you, Kamlen."

"Has she now?" Kamlen said with a laugh, and Antimony turned bright red.

"It's not like that-!" Annie started to say, but Kamlen cut across her.

"Relax! I'm only teasin'. Come along then, we'll show you where you'll be staying."

And so they walked through the village, Sareed pointing various things out to them as they went. Kat was very shy at first, but Paz was not, and she soon found that it was very easy to talk to Kamlen and Sareed. Whether it was good manners or just an amiable nature, they seemed to be always interested in what she had to say, whatever it was. After a little while they reached a large house near the middle of town, this one suspended above the ground like many of the others. A length of rope with a loop on the end hung down from a gap in the floor. Kamlen simply crouched and leaped the distance, which Kat noted was conspicuously higher than she had ever seen a human jump.

Sareed, however, stuck her foot into the loop of rope.

"Do your trick Annie!"

Antimony closed her eyes, and they watched as the other end of the rope began to tug itself, hauling Sareed upwards until she could step onto the ledge.

"Oh, that's so cool! Me next!" Paz said eagerly.

Soon they were all standing on the floor of the Anwyn house, looking down at Antimony.

"I want to try something, but I don't know if it will work..."

As they watched in amazement, her shoe-clad feet left the ground and her body floated upward as if it were no lighter than a feather, her eyes tightly shut all the while. Suddenly the spell seemed to break, and her arms flailed. One of them managed to grasp onto the ledge, and Kamlen quickly pulled her up.

"Annie... that was incredible!" Sareed said.

"Ysengrin's been teaching me. I haven't quite got it yet..."

One of Kamlen's younger brothers was watching them intently as though transfixed, a broom frozen in one hand.

"Whoah... they come in different colors!"

It took Kat a good second to figure out that after seeing Annie he had probably assumed that humans were only pale-skinned and red-haired. This struck her as incredibly amusing, but Kamlen seemed worried that they would be offended.

"Shut up Tam! You'd better keep your nose to the floor or mam will tan your 'ide!"

"Oi! I'll do what now?" A large woman said, emerging from around a corner, a bundle of candles under her arm. A newborn baby was swaddled to her chest. It appeared to be sleeping.

"Hello Khepi!" Annie said hugging her. "What is his name?"

"Good t'see ya, lass! We've not decided yet. Me and the Bo want to think of a good 'un."

Antimony stroked the babe's cheek gently and it fidgeted in it's sleep, unaware of the world around it. Khepi went off into another room and Kamlen lead them down a hallway to a door at the end. There were no beds, but three woolen sleeping rolls had been laid out on the floor.

"Here's the guest room, I know it's not much..."

"Much better than where we were sleeping last night." Kat said.

They laid down their bags and everybody sat for a while, talking and joking and laughing. Sareed was very curious about where they slept, and seemed utterly bewildered at the idea of central heating, and even more bewildered by the idea of making school kids sleep in metal bubbles underwater.

"It's as much a mystery to me as it is to you." Annie had said.

As they talked the sun crept up into the sky and the temperature began to increase until Kat noticed that she was sweating. Sareed seemed to have noticed as well.

"Kam, let's go down to Jumper's Pool, it's deathly hot out."

"That sounds lovely."

"Oh, uh... I didn't bring my swimsuit." Kat said sheepishly.

"Don't worry, I packed you one." Annie said at once.

* * *

Antimony felt strangely at home as her bare feet tread over the soft soil of the path. Even though she would always be more at ease with the walls of the Court surrounding her, there was also a history to those walls, a history she did not like. Here, it was as though all of that, and all her petty disagreements and squabbles had melted away underneath the warm sun. She was even talking to Paz differently- more easily. It was so easy for her to do that, to be cold when she thought she was concealing her disdain behind politeness.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts that she almost ran smack into Kamlen, who had stopped and was standing stock still. Very soon afterwards, she spotted what he was looking at. A huge creature was standing in the middle of the trail. It was vaguely ursine, covered in thick, shaggy brown fur and with beady black eyes, but it was like no bear she had ever seen. Although it was enormous, it's footsteps were muffled by large pads. At the end of each of these padded paws was a set of devastatingly large claws. Although they were covered in mud and looked more suited to digging through tree bark and dirt, she had no desire to test their effectiveness against flesh. It was watching them as they all stood speechless and terrified, a low rumble building in it's throat. Antimony allowed her mind to reach out through the ether, and a small flame kindled in her hand, flickering even though it was a windless day. Kamlen reached slowly to his belt and withdrew a knife.

"Be ready to run." He said softly.

Before any of them had a chance to do anything, Paz stepped forward and said, loudly:

"Sólo queremos ir a nadar, nos dejen en paz!"

The animal stopped growling immediately, regarded her for a moment, and then turned and began to lumber off into the undergrowth with a hearty snort.

"What a grouch..." Paz remarked idly. "Shall we continue?"

Sareed and Kamlen were speechless.

"What... how...?"

"Paz can talk to animals. I forgot to tell you, sorry." Antimony said, unable to repress a smile.

"Can everyone in the Court do magic? What's your power Kat?" Kamlen said.

Kat suddenly became very interested in her shoes.

"Not everyone, no. I can't do any magic."

"Nonsense!" Paz piped up. "You build robots, Kat, that is magic to me."

"Oooh!" Sareed said as they resumed their walk. "Annie told us about them... is it true they think you're an angel?"

And so the conversation resumed again. Antimony contented herself to listen, glad that she had been able to make her friend feel a little more important. Paz was right, though, it really was magic what she did. Not just what she built, but the way the machines reacted to her. It had been getting more and more pronounced recently- to the point that Annie wondered what was driving it. Even Robot was starting to act a little funny. Kat was doing her best to explain some of this to Sareed, but each response only prompted more questions. She was particularly astounded to learn that they have a friend who is a machine, and even more astounded to learn that said machine was best friends with a shadow person who could speak "the two-leg tongue" and walk in three dimensions.

* * *

When Jumper's Pool finally wound it's way into view, Kat quickly found a bush to change behind. She gave the swimsuit that Annie had given her it's first real appraisal. It was a two piece deal with strings, the kind of thing that Kat abhorred more than anything else besides dresses. Still, she did not want to seem like an awkward little duckling, so she quickly stripped and pulled it on. Annie and Kamlen had already jumped in the water, the former having worn her swimsuit underneath her street clothes and the latter simply taking off his shirt and diving in.

Sareed and Paz were still talking incessantly about robots and their habits. For some reason, neither of them seemed shy about changing in front of one another, and Kat couldn't help but steal glances at their bodies. Sareed was beautiful, shapely, green and developed, with wonderful curves all over. Paz was equally lovely, and the bikini looked right at home as it hugged her slim, tan body. Kat felt like a worm as she emerged from behind her bush, but as usualy Paz seemed to be able to read her discomfort a mile a way and already had a plan to counter it.

"Damn chica, you should wear a bathing suit more often..." She said in a playful voice, flicking Kat with her towel.

"Hey, stop that!" Kat said, but she blushed and felt immeasurably better.

Sareed was laughing too.

* * *

They had split into two groups once in the water. Paz, Kat and Sareed seemed to be getting along wonderfully, which gave Antimony plenty of time to talk to Kamlen. Kamlen was a rather reserved character at first, but once you got him talking the words flowed and flowed. Humorous anecdotes, stories of pranks on the sly, some ending in capture and some in which they got away cleanly and pinned the blame on a deserving victim, the latter being the best ones in her opinion. He told her of his father's high expectations of him, of his mother's epic temper and of his sibling's many mischievous exploits.

He told her about how his girlfriend was off in the forest for two weeks, training to be a medicine-woman. Antimony filed this last fact away in her head, where it bounced around with feverish excitement. She remembered what Irial had said about her man...

"He's too friendly for his own good."

She swam several small laps, making sure that he got a good view of her figure and at the same time pretending that it was not for his benefit. When she came to a stop again, he splashed some water at her with the back of his hand.

"You're a right little waterbug, aren't you? Funny, for some reason I always thought humans didn't like water."

"What?" Antimony said, unable to contain a laugh. "Where on earth did you get that idea?"

"I dunno. I reckon its because the river separates us, and the old stories always say the humans wont cross it."

"No one on the forest side can cross it either, that's why they built the bridge." Antimony replied. "And as you can clearly see, I'm soaking and I'm not about to wither up and die."

"Nah, you're not soaking. Not yet." Kamlen said with a grin, sending a huge plume of water towards her with both hands.

"Ack! Quit it!" Antimony laughed as he dipped his hands in the pool again and the torrent continued.

She thrust her hand out wildly and a jet of flame erupted from it, vaporizing the oncoming water. It continued through the air, just missing Kamlen's head and scorching the rock wall behind him.

"Alright, alright!" Kamlen said, throwing his hands up. "I can see I'm outmatched. You're getting better at that."

"It helps that I'm not drunk."

After their hands and feet were sufficiently wrinkled, they all went back up onto the shore to dry off in the hot noon-day sun. Kat and Paz shared a towel, and Antimony simply slipped on her clothes and ignited herself, the excess water billowing away in clouds of steam. She made sure to stop it once all the damp spots were gone. She couldn't afford to ruin a set of clothes every time she did that.

"Cheater!" Kamlen said with a chuckle.

On the way back, Kat and Sareed were deep in conversation on how buildings in the Court were made, compared to how the Anwyn did things. Paz was listening intently, which, it suddenly struck Antimony, was one of her best positive traits. She and Kamlen, on the other hand, were walking along in comfortable silence. She walked slightly ahead of him, and she could swear she could feel his gaze on her. It made her walk with a little more sway in her step. A small but insistent part of her brain that she did not often listen to was telling her that it would be a good idea to move her hips just a tad more than usual as she walked.

"I was wondering, though, how do you get such little branches to support all that weight?"

"We weave them together in a special way, my teacher showed me how when I started. She was the one that helped us with our house. She does many of the larger houses. I can show you some of her work if you like."

"Tell you what-" Kamlen said, interrupting Sareed. "Antimony and I have to pay a visit to Old Man Widder, we'll meet you back at the house."

"As long as I don't get in trouble for it this time." Sareed replied.

The path diverged, and they took leave of each other. Antimony did not ask him who Old Man Widder was, although she thought she had a pretty good guess. Kamlen was ahead of her now, wordlessly leading the way onwards, through the brush that was growing thicker by the minute. At last two huge ferns hung in the way and Kamlen pushed them aside to reveal a small clearing that contained an even smaller wooden hut. Next to it was a shelter of sorts. A pit had been dug into the ground, and a wooden board laid over the top of it, held up by small piles of stones. Inside this were a series of charred wooden vessels. Someone had ingeniously hollowed out one of the thick, fibrous vines that hung everywhere and made it into a tightly coiled tube that lead from one cask to the other. A bed of glowing coals heated the casks, and somewhere down inside she could hear bubbling, but the smell and steam prevented her from getting her face close enough to see it. Bottles were strewn about, most in two general groups- empty and full. The full ones were lined up neatly beside the shelter in rows. The empty ones were scattered all about, and in the midst of these lay what she assumed to be Old Man Widder, fast asleep.

"This is where we get our achewater." Kamlen said, apparently not at all worried about waking Widder. "A flask here, a flask there. He doesn't notice."

Someone else noticed, though. High up in the trees, Coyote lounged like a Puma with a fresh kill, grinning from ear to painted ear. Kamlen was a clever boy. He would be much easier to work with then his father.

* * *

By the time they had all returned home, Khepi was nowhere to be found. A note on the dresser in the living room told them that she had gone out to help a very ill man in the next village over. Kamlen went and got some food from the larder and they all gathered in the spare room. After a while, Sareed vanished, and reappeared with a guilty smile and five cups. Antimony held out her hand to Kamlen expectantly, and he retrieved the flask from his pocket and placed it in her hand. She poured them each a double measure.

"If you don't like it, you don't have to drink it." Sareed said

"But it's much more fun if you do." Antimony added.

Kamlen and Sareed downed theirs in one, as did Antimony. Paz and Kat both took a sip at the same time, and both nearly spat it out, but managed to swallow in time, if only to stop the burning. Kat choked.

"Geeze Annie... what is this?"

"Achewater." Antimony replied. "It's good stuff once you get used to it."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sareed absentmindedly touch her hand to her cheek, where she had been slapped. As time flowed by and more achewater was poured, she saw a different side of Kat. She talked freely, without even a hint of her usual shyness or reserve. Antimony and Kamlen found themselves simply sitting and listening as Sareed, Kat and Paz talked about the Court and the Forest.

She had finished her entire cup, but she did not feel the need to pour herself more. A warm happiness bubbled behind her eyes, making her think fondly of her best friend, and all the wild things they had endured together. Cursed teapots, mythical creatures. Robots and magic. Death and first loves. When she had fallen nearly to her death, it had been Kat who built an anti-grav vehicle to come save her. She couldn't quite say why, but somehow she knew that this would not the last time Kat saved her neck. Kamlen's gently placed elbow prodded her back to the present.

"I think your friends are enjoying themselves."

She and he were leaning against the wall like common drunks as Sareed, Paz and Kat sat in a semicircle on the three sleeping rolls. They were chatting animatedly and showed no signs of ceasing any time soon. Occasionally one of them would crack a joke, and they all laughed uproariously.

"It's nice to see her come out of her shell a bit." Antimony said, slurring her words a little.

She looked up at Kamlen then, because that seemed to be the right thing to do to punctuate this statement, or so the achewater told her. He was looking at her too, and his eyes had a curious twinkle in them.

"I don't think I've showed you my room yet?"

"You have a room to yourself?" Annie said in amazement.

Having grown up in a hospital and then a boarding school, she had only ever had fantasies about having her own room.

"Yeah, come on, I'll show you."

Their departure was quiet and went unnoticed, except by Sareed. As Antimony glanced back at the happy scene one more time, she saw Sareed staring at them with a hard expression. Then Kat said something, and it melted back away into a smile. It was so quick it was almost unnerving.

* * *

Kat felt incredible. Better than she had, perhaps in all her life before. It was such a small price to pay, that initial bad taste, for this... this wonderful light-headedness. Suddenly all her usual worries, the doubts that gnawed at her and kept her mouth shut, all melted away, and she was free to say whatever she wanted, consequences be damned. It helped that Sareed was such a nice girl, such a friendly girl... Kat wished that they had girls like her in the Court.

"How did you two meet?"

The question caught Kat by surprise. Suddenly all the liquid courage had drained out of her, and she couldn't meet Sareed's eyes.

"What's wrong?" Sareed asked, clearly worried that she had caused offense somehow.

"It's nothing-" Paz said with a hiccup. She had finished her "Some humans think that girls should not like other girls."

Sareed looked puzzled at this.

"Really? Why?"

Paz shrugged.

"It's a long story. If I told you-" *hic* "-if I told you the whole thing we would still be talking when the sun came up."

Suddenly Kat felt a familiar warmth on her right hand as Paz took it in hers. At that moment, Kat felt safe. Whenever Paz was that near, her worries were not.

"In the Wood, you're allowed to love who you please." Sareed said. "I've slept with women before, although I still plan to find a man and have babs of me own."

Paz giggled, and Kat felt her jaw drop. She didn't quite know what surprised her about that fact... but somehow it made her heart race.

"You're very pretty Sareed, dios mio... I wish I had half your looks!" Paz said.

Sareed laughed, and threw her hair back, clearly enjoying the compliment.

"You're not bad-lookin' yourself, child! I love the way you've cut your hair."

Kat looked to her left, and saw the last of her finger of achewater, sitting alone in it's cup. She took it and drained the rest. It barely burned anymore, going down almost like water. What was one more little drink, right?

"So... how much have you done together?"

Kat didn't understand the question at first, but then she blushed bright red.

"Nothing! I mean... we've kissed and also..." she trailed off.

Before she could think what to say next, or spend another awkward moment wondering, Paz did something amazing.

She leaned over and kissed her.

Kat was surprised at first and felt awkward doing it in front of Sareed, but the first few moments were so wonderful that she could not help but close her eyes and go along with it. When they broke apart, she was almost panting.

"Paz, what-?" She said, but she was smiling. Smiling even though she hadn't intended to.

She looked over and saw that Sareed had a wicked grin plastered on her face.

"You know, I can show you two how to do more than just kiss..."

Kat's heart began to race once more. But now it was not nervousness. It was excitement. Did she really want to do that...? Here...? Now? The thing that so excited her, was that she knew the answer was yes. She had just never imagined it would happen like this... She looked at Paz, but Paz was looking at her too.

"W-what do you mean?" Kat said, unable to keep her voice from trembling.

Sareed scooted her sleeping roll closer to them, so that all three of them were very close together. Sareed looked at Paz.

"Paz, you seem like you already know what I have in mind. Would you like to go first?"

"What about Kamlen and Antimony?"

"Something tells me they won't be bothering us."

Suddenly Paz was wearing a grin similar to the one Sareed had earlier, an expression Kat had never seen on her face. Something about it made her feel very hot around her waist...

"Just relax Kat..." Paz said, as she leaned in for another kiss.

Kat closed her eyes and let herself go, pausing their embrace only to allow Sareed to pull Kat's Vault-Tech shirt over her head and discard it. It was terrifying and wonderful and free, thinking nothing in her mind but the joy that the feeling of their bare skin touching brought her. No blueprints, no plans, no homework, no tests, no studying... just that wonderful warmth, and the knowledge that someone thought she was beautiful... that someone cared.

Paz was much stronger than she looked. She pushed forward, leaning Kat back until she was lying on her back, her legs flopped out on the floor. Kat lay down on her right side, and Sareed at her left.

"May I?" Sareed asked.

"Of course." Paz replied, slipping her hands into Kat's knickers.

Kat gasped, and her thighs squirmed. It felt so unbelievably good... Paz seemed to know exactly how to rub her, and soon she was panting again. Moisture was dripping down her thighs. She had read so many pulp novels about it, had pawed herself so many times in the wee hours of the night, after Antimony had gone to sleep, but to be doing this... it was something completely different. It was a wondrous thing to be moved purely by instinct. She looked up and saw Sareed taking her shirt off. She then leaned down and kissed Kat, sticking her tongue deep into Kat's mouth. At the same time Paz was speeding up her ministrations, rubbing her more frantically every second.

Something like lightning shot through Kat's body. Her thighs clenched up around Paz's hand, and a cascade of wetness spread out in a dark splotch on her pants. At the same time an involuntary noise escaped her lips.

"OoOooOooooooh..."

"My turn." Sareed said, and slipped her hand in next to Paz's.

* * *

Kat did not know quite what it was that awoke her from sleep. It was completely dark out now, but it was warm where she was. Paz was sleeping just to her right and Sareed was on her left, her bosom resting against Kat's back. None of them had many clothes between them. She realized then that her throat was very dry, so she slid out from between the other two girls and walked down the hall to get a drink from the stone basin in the kitchen. As she rounded the north corner of the house, she heard noises coming from a room just to her left. The booze was still swirling in her head, and as she crept forward to the doorway she pretended she was Solid Snake, and had to stifle a giggle.

She moved to the door-frame and peaked in.

The room was lit by a single candle on a desk. Antimony was on the bed, her head resting against the wall and her legs splayed out wide. Kamlen was between them, pushing his body against hers rhythmically, his well-muscled buttocks clenching and unclenching. Annie was making noises that Kat had never heard before.

"Mmmf, god-yes-yes-plea-oh, mmmmmm-oh god, shit, ah yes..."

Annie's head was resting on Kamlen's shoulder as he took her. Luckily her eyes were closed, so she did not see Kat moving from one side of the door frame to the other. Kat got her drink and returned by another route. It was odd- yesterday her whole world would have been turned upside down by what she had just seen, and now... now it only mildly amused her. She slipped back under the covers and nuzzled her head up against Sareed's chest. Sleep came almost instantly.


	2. Chapter 2

When Kat opened her eyes again daylight was streaming in through the open window. She was alone in the room, the blanket still draped over her, and for a moment the previous night seemed impossibly far away. It had to have been a dream... and yet as she felt the blanket against her bare skin and realized she wasn't wearing any clothes, she knew it hadn't been. She felt slightly groggy, but none the worse for wear, all things considered.

A wonderful smell was wafting through the door and into her room, and she could hear the faint sounds of people talking and moving about, so she grabbed fresh clothes from her backpack and changed quickly. When she traced the smell back to the kitchen, she found Sareed bent over the wood stove, moving a large quantity of eggs around in an iron skillet. Paz was already there too.

"Morning sleepy head!"

"Morning." Kat mumbled through a yawn, wiping the sleep out of her eyes.

Sareed was all smiles when she turned to fetch a plate and place it in front of Kat. It was almost as though last night had never happened and they were still just good friends, the kind who shared compliments and conversation rather than... well, sex. She didn't know exactly how to feel about it. A part of her had thought that sex was somehow inextricably bound up with love, but last night had taken that view and shook it, and the pieces were still settling into a new normal.

"Did you sleep well?" Sareed asked.

Paz giggled. "You must have. Your legs were shaking so hard I thought you were going to have a seizure."

For some reason all three of them found this hilarious, and they all relapsed into laughter, Sareed's wooden stirring spoon falling out of her hand and clattering on the wooden floor.

"Alright, what's so blasted funny that ya gotta laugh about it at this hour o' the bloomin' day..." Kamlen said, shuffling into the kitchen wearing the same clothes as the day before.

He plopped himself down next to Kat, who tried not to blush. The two more of the Anywn boys came behind him, with Sareed's younger sister in tow.

"I'll tell the joke later, Kam."

"Why are you making breakfast?" The younger girl asked, clearly unhappy. "You always cook 'em too much."

"Mum's still out, and if you don't like my cooking you can go make your own. More for our guests."

Sareed glanced over her shoulder again, and then took the pan off the flame and went to fetch more plates while the boys talked with Kamlen about something happening later that day- some kind of ball game or other. Annie wandered in, and Kat noticed that she was walking a little differently, as though she had slept in a funny position and was sore. When she sat down at the table, Kat saw that although there were deep circles under her eyes, her expression was soft and calm. Kat was grateful for the boy's chatter. None of them seemed like they were in a mood to talk yet. Kat knew that there were going to be some interesting confessions shared between them, somewhere down the line- because friends don't keep secrets from friends. But now, for some reason, she didn't feel as apprehensive about it as she once would have. What would happen would happen, and they would still be friends.

Sareed chopped the eggs up and began doling them out, which gave them all something to look at besides each other.

A new kind of feeling had settled over Kat. It was a contentedness, a surety... she had never felt it before. She felt like she knew herself better now, herself and others too. Once upon a time she had watched people from a distance, as she suspected Annie had as well. She looked upon their faces, laughing and talking and joking and wondered "what makes them normal, and me weird?". In truth, they weren't such mysterious things after all. In truth, most everyone was a little weird, and if they weren't a little weird they were a little boring. Suddenly she realized she was incredibly thankful that Annie had chosen to take them along. She really was a true friend, in every sense of the word.

* * *

A wind had picked up as they slid down the rope and onto the grassy ground, one by one. Their backpacks were packed. Annie had her makeup on. She hesitated for a moment before grabbing the rope. Kamlen was there on the landing with her, seeing them all off while Sareed cooked another batch of eggs. They exchanged a meaningful look, and Kamlen handed her the glass jar with the remainder of the achewater in it. She slid it into her pack, and Kamlen said something that Kat didn't catch.

"Of course." Antimony replied, and slid down the rope to join them.

They spent the rest of the walk back to the bridge in silence, all three of them simply taking in the perfect morning air. Kat had never realized how beautiful this place truly was until she had to leave it. She found herself wondering when she would be back...

Something about windy days always made Kat feel excited, as though the air rushing against her clothes was pushing her onward somehow, or playfully resisting her. The dozens of small noises she had heard and been terrified by on the way in were drowned out by the susuration of the breeze as it fluttered past their ears.

Soon enough though, the trees began to thin and the underbrush receded, until at last the massive face of Gunnerkrigg Court emerged- an unending front of concrete, glass and steel stretching in either direction. This time, Kat didn't look down into the chasm as they crossed the was waiting for them on the other side. They did not walk up the stone steps to the main hall, however. Instead Jones led them left, and to another smaller door on the side. This led into a long hallway with a single door at the far end.

"We do not usually employ this procedure, but the two of you have not been trained as Antimony has, and may have unknowingly taken items with you that are dangerous to the Court."

"Dangerous how?" Paz said.

The door opened into an L-shaped washroom with individual shower stalls. They had dividers between them, but they were only about shoulder-high. Two of the stalls already had towels draped over them.

"One of the things you will be searched for is any seeds, spores or microorganisms you may have picked up during your stay in the forest. Meet us in the next room when you are done. "

"What about Annie?" Kat said. "She doesn't have to decontaminate?"

Antimony snapped her fingers (entirely for dramatic effect), and she burst into flames. The fire raged for about three seconds, and then went out, leaving no soot marks on the ceiling or the floor. Then she gave them a cheerful wave and followed Jones out of the other door.

Kat rolled her eyes.

"She could be a little more humble about it."

"If you've got it, flaunt it." Paz said, giving Kat's bottom a friendly pinch.

They stripped down to bare skin putting their clothes in two piles safely out of reach of the spray. The water came out of the shower head boiling hot, causing Kat to yelp and twist the knob. Gradually the stream became cooler, and she scrubbed herself down, using the liquid soap provided for them. It smelled faintly like lilacs and petroleum. She felt a pair of hands wrap around her from behind. Paz's chest pressed against her back, and her chin rested gently on her shoulder. Kat worried for a moment what would happen if Jones decided to check on them, but by and by she came to the realization that she did not care.

"You are beautiful, chica."

"Thank you. So are you."

She swiveled in Paz's embrace to find that she was wearing a more serious expression than Kat had envisioned.

"I don't just mean looks, Kat." She said, brushing a wet strand of hair out of Kat's eyes and tucking it behind her ear. "You have a beautiful mind. That is the reason I care for you so much. You should never spend another second worrying what other people think."

Kat felt something strange swell in her chest. She understood now why the Greeks had thought that all passions originated in the heart. She wanted to tell Paz that she understood, that whenever she was near Kat felt like she was the bravest person that ever lived. But she was not good with words, so instead she simply said:

"Paz... I think I'm in love with you."

Admitting it felt like going over a waterfall, but as usual Paz has the perfect reply to sweep away all the meaningless words. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime as the warm water flowed over their intertwined forms, washing away the last dregs of doubt and uncertainty.

* * *

The days rolled by. Antimony moved between classes in something of a daze. She felt removed from it all, somehow. The routines blended into one another, a blur of pencil, paper and bookbag. She took no notes in any classes, not that she often did anyway. Instead she doodled as her mind wandered back to the warm feeling of Kamlen's arms against hers.

She allowed herself to slip out of her body and float up through one of the glass skylights that had been left ajar. Her etheric projection touched down gently on the rooftop, and she turned her gaze across the divide. It occurred to her that Jeanne must have done this very thing, years and years ago. Except to Antimony's knowledge, Jeanne had not had etheric ability, and looking at the forest with her body's eyes was nothing as compared to what it _actually _looked like. Life and joy and wildness seemed to radiate out from it in all directions, expressed in colors that she could not name aloud. She had asked Ysengrin once what all the multicolored streamer things were. At times they flitted past like butterflies, and at others they simply lay draped across branches out of reach, as though they had never been alive at all. A far-off look had come into the old wolf's eyes.

"They are memories." He had said. "The forest is rich with them. The ether is strong here. In the Court they suck it out of the water and the air and hoard it away, thinking like fools that they are harnessing it. Here in the Wood it flows freely, and though things may move on from this place... they never truly die. A little part of them always remains here."

She remembered it almost as clearly as if she was there now. They had lain together afterwards, drifting in and out of sleep for hours. She knew it was a secret thing, only for one night, but she could not help but imagine herself in Irial's place- free to throw her arms around that shapely torso and kiss that handsome mouth...

"Carver."

The voice was not loud, but it seemed to crack like a bullwhip. Antimony looked up somewhat suddenly, and she heard a few giggles. Everyone was looking at her, including the teacher.

"I understand if you find statistics a little dry, but please pay attention."

She glanced down at the drawing, seeing it for the first time, and felt her face burn in embarrassment. Kamlen's smile stared back up at her, every line of his disarming smile captured perfectly. She hastily put it away in her bag.

"Sorry sir."

* * *

Reynardine looked up at the clock. It was almost time for the rest of the students to get back, and the girls would be meeting up here at five to have their movie night. Time to be gone. He curled his plushy hand around the bookmark, and slid it back into its place between the pages of the book he had been reading. Then he hopped off the table and transformed himself into a wolf. The halls were empty, for which he was thankful, and soon he had slipped down a side corridor, jumping up to turn the door handle with his teeth. He had taken it many times now, and he would take it many times in the future- until he had left the Court or until he was no longer welcome at Jim's for a drink and a long talk about old times.

* * *

More and more, Antimony was convinced that movie night was one of the only things keeping her sane. It had been a long week, worrying about grades and fighting off relentless daydreaming at the same time. It felt like she couldn't win. She found herself genuinely happy at the fact that Paz had joined them again tonight. The atmosphere was much friendlier than last time, and the achewater certainly helped a bit. Only the barest of slivers now wet the bottom of the bottle, the rest had been consumed. They all laughed, booed, gasped and speculated together, and it was wonderful.

* * *

They had made a nest of blankets on the floor and rested their heads against the foot of the sofa. Kat was not saying anything at the moment, simply staring up at the ceiling and watching the bulkhead lean back and forth as though they were a ship at sea. She understood now why Mr. Eglamore and her dad acted so silly the times they sat drinking after dinner, and why her mother would shoo her off to bed early. Paz was whispering something in Annie's ear and both of them were blushing and giggling furiously.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just telling her about Sareed's hospitality." Paz said. She was wearing a grin that Kat had seen only a few times before.

Kat was a little flustered, and not just from the drink.

"You told her-?" She said, apprehensively.

"Yes, she did." Annie said.

She too was wearing an expression Kat had never seen... never, except for a few nights ago, pressed against Kamlen. She felt a hand run over her leg softly- a familiar sensation, except this time it was not Paz doing the hanky panky. She looked down at the hand as it wandered over her thigh, stroking it gently. Wherever it touched, Kat felt her skin suddenly grow warm, as though Annie's fingers were on fire. She looked up into her friend's eyes, which were much closer than last she had seen them. Paz was watching them, still wearing that guilty grin.

"I- I don't know Annie..." Kat found herself saying.

She had never noticed how shockingly blue those eyes were... She felt like her words were swallowed up by them as Annie scooted closer. Kat had always harbored a bit of jealousy towards her friend. Antimony was so effortlessly feminine, with her hair and her makeup, and Kat was not. These thoughts were silently snipped into little ribbons and blown away as Antimony did the unthinkable. Their lips locked together, and Kat had no choice but to give in to the pure sensation of the experience, although she could never entirely forget who it was she was kissing- whose hands were caressing the back of her head.

Kat had felt Antimony's body before. When you were sharing a crowded lab table you couldn't help but bump elbows. Sometimes Antimony would hold something teasingly out of reach and Kat would wrestle playfully with her to get it back. But this... this was another ball game entirely.

They broke apart, and Antimony's hands were moving with purpose now, pulling Kat's Vault Tech shirt over her head and tossing it aside, stopping only to allow Paz to pull her sweater over her head. Kat reached out with fumbling fingers and began to unbutton her friend's dress shirt. Somewhere off in the mists of her peripheral vision, Paz was undoing hers as well. Then it came away, and their eyes met again. They both laughed nervously, and Paz scooted up behind Antimony, her clever little fingers quickly undoing Antimony's bra. Paz leaned forward and stole a kiss, and then Kat kissed Antimony again, because why not? The time for thinking was past. She let instinct guide her now, which was not hard as the feeling of Antimony's bare torso touching hers was causing some kind wild chain-reaction in her brain. Common sense, judgement and all the rest of those high-minded ideals were rapidly fading, and a great, throbbing need was taking hold. She had never known it was possible to feel like this, but now that it was happening she found she rather liked it.

She felt Antimony's hand pull down the hem of her pajamas and begin to rub her vigorously. She returned the favor, pulling up Antimony's skirt. Paz helped her dispense with the panties, laying bare a pale mound with a little patch of reddish fuzz lying just above it. Kat ran her fingers through it, her heart beating a double-time in her chest. Everything in her head was screaming that this was wrong, but it felt so good... how could she not? Paz interjected herself here, gently pulling Kat's fingers aside. Then she did something that Kat was not expecting. She stuck out her tongue... and licked Annie. Annie gasped, and Paz did it again, eliciting a similar reaction. The she opened her mouth wide and pushed her face further in. Antimony closed her eyes and moaned, and Kat felt a slight poking sensation as her friend dipped a finger inside her and began to move it vigorously. A warm sensation was collecting at her hips, a tightly packed ball of energy that grew and grew until it shot out into every extremity of her body, causing her to shake. Antimony climaxed a moment later, soaking Paz's nose and cheeks.

The fun continued on after that, long into the wee hours of the morning, until they were utterly exhausted, reduced to a tangle of slim young bodies, kissing and rubbing against one another, reveling in the wonderful sensations and the complete freedom the achewater provided.


End file.
